PawSox 4, Bats 2: Sutton’s hit in 8th extends Pawtucket’s streak

PAWTUCKET — Drew Sutton’s two-out, two-run single in the eighth inning handed the PawSox their fifth straight victory, 4-2, over Louisville on Thursday night.Sutton’s bases-loaded single came after Dan...

Sutton’s bases-loaded single came after Dan Butler had struck out. Jackie Bradley Jr. had started the rally with a leadoff double before a pair of intentional walks.

Making his McCoy Stadium debut, Anthony Ranaudo gave up plenty of hits but only one run. As has been his custom now in three Triple-A starts, he allowed a first-inning run and locked it down from there.

Although he had only one clean inning, Ranaudo kept the Bats at bay by being at his best out of the stretch. After stranding two in the first, he got out of a two-on, no-out jam in the second with the help of a double play. Jeremy Hazelbaker aided him in the fourth, gunning down Henry Rodriguez trying to score from second on a base hit to end the inning.

Ranaudo wiggled out of another jam in the fifth, stranding Billy Hamilton at third with one out.

Hamilton, the minors’ pre-eminent speed merchant, was a thorn in Ranaudo’s side with a pair of triples — surprisingly matching his season total coming into the night. He scored Louisville’s lone run of the night on Neftali Soto’s infield single in the first.

Six of the nine hits off Ranaudo came after the pitcher got ahead 0-2.

Through three starts at this level, Ranaudo has allowed five earned runs on 21 hits in 162/3 innings. He helped his cause Thursday by not walking a batter. His three strikeouts all came against the recently demoted Derrick Robinson.

He was in position for the victory until Ryan Rowland-Smith served up a game-tying homer to Felix Perez with two outs in the eighth.

The PawSox owed their early offense to some aggressive baserunning. Following his leadoff single, Xander Bogaerts went first to third on Alex Hassan’s bloop to center, getting around the tag with a creative slide. When Mark Hamilton grounded a ball to first, Bogaerts appeared to be stuck halfway down the line. Louisville’s Soto opted for the out at second, though, allowing Bogaerts to score.

Two batters later, Hamilton scored all the way from first on Sutton’s two-out double to give Pawtucket the lead.

Webster on a roll

It hasn’t always been a smooth ride for Allen Webster this season.

But when the right-hander takes the hill on Friday night in the series finale with Louisville, he’ll do so on the strength of four consecutive good starts.

Webster has allowed seven earned runs in 231/3 innings in those starts — the same number of runs he gave up in 11/3 in the start prior to that run.

Even better has been the improvement in his strikeout-to-walk ratio. Command has been Webster’s issue all season: When he commands well, his stuff plays. When he doesn’t, he gets knocked around a bit.

Webster walked five and struck out just one in that disastrous start at Durham, capping an eight-start span in which he walked 22 in 371/3 Triple-A innings. Since then, he’s struck out 26 and walked only seven.

“He’s locating the fastball better. Same stuff, just better location now,” pitching coach Rich Sauveur said. “Just don’t think so much out there on the mound. Just pitch. That’s what he’s doing.”

Sauveur said Webster has made a small tweak in his delivery by waiting more on his back leg.

“He had a little drift in his delivery, and we really worked on emphasizing staying back. That’s all we’ve really done,” said Sauveur. “[It’s] getting back to where he was at the beginning of the season.”

Diaz shows versatility

Earlier this season, Jonathan Diaz only rarely cracked the starting lineup for the PawSox. He was often the odd man out as manager Gary DiSarcina juggled infielders such as Jose Iglesias and Brock Holt and Brandon Snyder.

Since the middle of the season, though, Diaz has become an everyday player for Pawtucket. It’s just the position that changes each game.

Diaz has played 30 of the last 36 games since being sent down from the majors. He’s played second, he’s played short and he’s played third on the infield, allowing Bogaerts some defensive flexibility on the left side.

But that’s not all. Diaz has also pitched during that stretch. He volunteered to play center field when Bradley was hurt. This is why he’s one of DiSarcina’s favorite players.

“He’s more than helpful. For a manager, he’s awesome,” DiSarcina said. “He’ll do whatever you want. He’ll drive the bus, cook the spread, he’ll do anything. From a manager’s perspective, those guys are invaluable to have. He doesn’t complain. He goes out there and plays.”

When Diaz earned his first call-up to the majors in late June, it was telling just how many players — even those passed over in Pawtucket, like Holt and Snyder — were happy for him.

“Other than the time I got called up, it was probably the most enjoyable one,” DiSarcina said. “Those are the types of guys you want to reward. He earned it. Just because he’s not on the roster doesn’t mean he’s not going to get a chance, and that’s why I respect the Red Sox organization. They don’t care about the roster. If you can help them win a ballgame, they’re going to call you up. That’s what that proves, not just to Jonathan but to all those guys in that clubhouse. It was very enjoyable.”

For Diaz, it was a hectic — and hitless in five at-bats — time, but one that reminded him he’s on the right track in his career.

“It was a dream come true, and I had a good time up there. I didn’t feel I was overwhelmed in any way by any of it,” he said. “I definitely want to make it happen again.”